As the 2023-2024 academic year gets underway shortly, the University is excited to celebrate the 39th season of the Wittenberg Series. Offering the campus, Springfield community, and greater region a diverse selection of guest lectures and world-renowned performances, this year’s Series will begin with the traditional Opening Convocation featuring a keynote address by Brian Yontz, Wittenberg’s new provost and current professor of education, at 10 a.m. Friday, Aug. 25, in historic Weaver Chapel.

A faculty member in Wittenberg’s Department of Education since 2006, Yontz was officially named provost this summer following a year of interim service. He received the Alumni Association’s Award for Distinguished Teaching in 2020, the Excellence in Community Service Award in 2019, and the Edith B. and Frank C. Matthies Award in 2018. In 2015, he won the National Scholar Award from the Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education for research focused on alternative pathways of teacher credentialing. He earned his B.A. from Asbury College, his M.S. from Wright State University, and his Ph.D. from The Ohio State University. His address, is titled “Belonging and Progress.”

The Rev. Tracy Paschke-Johannes, David and Carol Matevia Endowed University Pastor, will deliver the invocation. Other speakers include President Michael L. Frandsen and Vice President of Student Development and Dean of Students Casey Gill. Music will be provided by chapel organist David Weimer.

The Wittenberg Series was created in 1982 during President William A. Kinnison’s tenure. Since its inception, Nobel Laureates, scientists, significant literary figures, most of America’s foremost modern dance companies, as well as hundreds of prominent psychologists, educators, economists, writers, theologians, urban planners, and historians, have visited campus to participate.

A wide range of lecturers will share their expertise with audiences during this year’s Series, including Britt Wray, lead of the special initiative of the chair on climate mental health in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences of Stanford Medicine; Michael Gomez, professor of history and Middle Eastern & Islamic studies and founder of the Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora (ASWAD); Wittenberg 2013 graduates Karlos L. Marshall and Moses B. Mbeseha, co-founders of The Conscious Connect; Hanif Abdurraqib, poet, essayist, and cultural critic from Columbus, Ohio; Pastor Drew Tucker, executive director of Hopewood Outdoors Lutheran Camps; and Eli Saslow, currently a writer at large for the New York Times, who was formerly with the Washington Post. 

The Series will also include the holiday favorite Lessons and Carols for Advent and Christmas, and a jazz concert by Tribe for Jazz with saxophonist Jon Irabagon.

All events of The Wittenberg Series are open to the public free of charge. Doors open 30 minutes prior to the beginning of each lecture or performance. Below are further details related to each Series’ event.

2023-2024 Wittenberg Series Events:

• Friday, Aug. 25: Opening Convocation, 10 a.m., Weaver Chapel, featuring Brian Yontz, provost and professor of education, Wittenberg University.
• Monday, Oct. 23: IBM Endowed Lecture in the Sciences, 7 p.m., Bayley Auditorium, featuring Britt Wray, lead of the special initiative of the chair on climate mental health in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences of Stanford Medicine.
• Thursday, Nov. 16: William A. Kinnison Endowed Lecture in History, 7 p.m., Bayley Auditorium, featuring Michael Gomez, professor of history and Middle Eastern & Islamic studies and founder, association for the study of the Worldwide African Diaspora (ASWAD).
• Friday, Dec. 8: Candlelight Chapel Service, Lessons and Carols for Advent & Christmas, Weaver Chapel, 7:30 p.m. with pre-service music beginning at 7 p.m.
• Monday, Jan. 15, 2024: Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation (collaboration with Diversity Advisory Committee), 11 a.m. in Weaver Chapel, featuring 2013 Wittenberg graduates Karlos L. Marshall and Moses B. Mbeseha, co-founders of The Conscious Connect.
• Monday, Feb. 19, 2024: Allen J. Koppenhaver Literary Lecture, 7 p.m., Bayley Auditorium, featuring Hanif Abdurraqib, poet, essayist, and cultural critic from Columbus, Ohio.
• Thursday, March 14, 2024: Sauer Symposium, Pastor Drew Tucker, executive director of Hopewood Outdoors Lutheran Camps and author of “4D Formation,” which focuses on vocation for young adults, at 7 p.m. in Weaver Chapel.
• Monday, March 18, 2024: The Jon Irabagon Quartet concert at 7 p.m. in Weaver Chapel.
• Tuesday, April 9, 2024: Leventhal Family Lecture, 7 p.m., Bayley Auditorium, featuring Eli Saslow, currently a writer at-large for the New York Times, who was formerly with the Washington Post. 

For more information on the Wittenberg Series, click here. To make special arrangements or become a friend of the Wittenberg Series, contact Katie Warber at kwarber@wittenberg.edu.